Argentine Ant Affects Ant-Mimetic Arthropods: Does Argentine Ant Invasion Conserve Colouring Variation of Myrmecomorphic Jumping Spider?
Read full paper at: http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=47415#.VMijiCzQrzE Author(s) Yoshifumi Touyama , Fuminori Ito Affiliation(s) Niho, Minami-ku, Hiroshima City, Japan . Laboratory of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Ikenobe, Japan . ABSTRACT Argentine ant invasion changed colour-polymorphic composition of ant-mimetic jumping spider Myrmarachne in southwestern Japan. In Argentine ant-free sites, most of Myrmarachne exhibited all-blackish colouration. In Argentine ant-infested sites, on the other hand, blackish morph decreased, and bicoloured ( i.e. partly bright-coloured) morphs increased in dominance. Invasive Argentine ant drives away native blackish ants. Disappearance of blackish model ants supposedly led to malfunction of Batesian mimicry of Myrmarachne . KEYWORDS Batesian Mimicry , Biological Invasion , Linepithema humile , Myrmecomorphy , Myrmarachne , Polymorphism C...